PA wage garnishment document info and procedure

[Ben Corby]

Welcome to Podunk!

I went to file wage garnishment yesterday at my local courthouse and the lady in that office had no clue what I needed as she hasn't done one in years.

No surprise there, the lady in the magistrates office a year or 2 ago told me I had to give notice to my tenants and I told her I didn't as stated in the lease and then I showed her right on the LL/T complaint where it says I didn't have to and she said, Wow in 20 years working there she had never seen that.

Anyway...

A few weeks ago I called the sheriffs office in regards to the wage garnishment and they said all I need was the judgement.

COOL!

So I go there with my judgement yesterday and they said, no you need alot more paperwork than that.

Ok.... we learn as we go.

So I head to the prothonotary's office and that's when she tells me that she has no clue what I need and hasn't done one in years.

(I know they cant give legal advice, but if youre nice and play stupid and ask the right questions, they like to tell you how much they know.)

She pulled up the only file she knew regarding the wage garnishment and gave it to me.

She also gave me similar but slightly different blank copies of the paperwork from that file.

Here is a list of the docs she gave me:

Praecipe for Writ of Attachment

A praecipe for notice of intent to attach wages

A notice of intent to attach wages, salary or commissions

A claim for exemption from wage attachment

A notice of claim exemption of wages from attachment

2012 HHS poverty guidelines

A certification by judgement creditor-landlord

Can anyone here in Pa make sense out of this?

I want to figure out if they are correct, what order they belong in, if there are some that dont need to be included.

Thank you in advance.